Battle of the Bots

Online shopping sure is easy—a few clicks and some data entry, and before you know it, the goods are at your doorstep. But how can you be sure you got the best deal? Could you have saved a few bucks by surfing around a bit more? If you'd used a shopping bot, or shopbot for short, you wouldn't have to worry. These online search engines, also known as intelligent agents, crawl through thousands of Web sites, seeking out the best prices and returning results in seconds.

More and more bots are using a combination of intelligent agents and constantly updated databases of merchant-provided pricing and availability information. A bot's specific technology is usually invisible to the user, who is simply presented with a list of online stores and prices.

Some sites, such as eBoodle, provide a more comprehensive set of services, including reviews of online stores, form-filling services, and buyer-feedback forums. Others, such as NexTag.com, let you negotiate with participating merchants for a better price.

Caveat Emptor Electronicum

Bots aren't perfect, though. If they were, they'd all come up with the same results—the lowest price on every item, every time. But they don't, for a number of reasons, including relationships with particular merchants, varying depths of store databases, and differing levels of search technology.

"There are some bots that return results only for sites they have relationships with," says Malcolm Maclachlan, media e-commerce analyst for IDC. Others crawl many sites, but move results for merchants with which they have affiliations to the top.

"They have to make revenue somehow," says Maclachlan. "Advertising is not the most reliable way on the Web."

Bots may have affiliations with hundreds of merchants, and it's often impossible to know. In some instances, you'll find information about affiliations on the bots' sites, but in most cases, you just won't know if a bot's favoring those sites. To remove a bot's bias, use one with good sorting features, then sort results by price. Do the same with at least a few additional bots.

The merchants themselves can make the process even trickier. Some include shipping in the advertised price; others add it later—a problem if you're trying to compare prices quickly. Still others add a "handling" charge after you've entered your credit-card information.

Let's go shopping!

Keeping these caveats in mind, you can still save money by shopping with bots. How much? We decided to find out by taking eight of the leading bots shopping for a handful of popular technology products, starting with the hottest portable devices, then moving on to desktops, peripherals, and a popular computer game. We started out with nearly 20 bots, and whittled the list down to the ones that offered the best interfaces and the lowest prices: bottomdollar.com, Compareitall (www.compareitall.com), DealTime (www.dealtime.com), eBoodle (www.eboodle.com), Jango (www.jango.com), mySimon (www.mysimon.com), NexTag.com, and StoreRunner (www.storerunner.com). We found some pretty good deals, but we also found that shopping with bots can be more like a tiptoe through a minefield than a walk in the park. Read on and learn how to avoid the pitfalls we encountered when you go on your own shopping excursions.

Palm V

Staples price $329.98 + tax
Software-Buyline price $297.95
We saved $32.03 using bottomdollar.com

The first product we shopped for was the Palm V handheld, one of the most often-purchased gadgets on the Internet. If you wander into your local Staples outlet, you'll pay $329.98 plus tax. Bottomdollar.com's efficient and intu- itive interface made it easy to find it at SoftwareBuyLine's site (www.softwarebuyline.com)for $297.95.

Creative Nomad

List price $299.99
PC Mall price $220.00
We saved $79.99 using NexTag.com

NexTag.com's interface is a bit muddled, but the money you can save through its haggling feature makes up for it. Bottomdollar. com called up a competitive price of $248.78 from PC Mall (www.pcmall.com) for the $299.99 Creative Nomad MP3 player, but haggling through NexTag.com cut the price to $220, shipping included. Several bots directed us to eCost.com, but its handling fees jacked the price up to $249.89.

IBM ThinkPad 390X

Direct price $2,794.00
eCost.com price $2,764.79
We saved $29.21 using DealTime and StoreRunner

Finding the 500MHz IBM ThinkPad 390X for less than the direct price of $2,794 was easy; finding it in stock was not. A number of bots directed us to a low $2,605.95 at Buy.com, but when we got to the site we learned the 390X wasn't in stock. Some stores save you time by informing you right on the bot's page if an item's out of stock. Buy.com was not one of them. DealTime and StoreRunner found the next lowest price—in stock at eCost.com for $2,764.79, including the handling fee—a mere $29.21 savings over IBM's price.

Kodak DC290

Direct price $913.95
Egghead.com price $720.99
We saved $192.96 using DealTime and StoreRunner

We found astounding discounts on the new Kodak DC290 digital camera, whose direct cost is $913.95 including shipping. StoreRunner and DealTime both found it for $720.99 at Egghead.com.

Compaq Presario 3555

Staples price $1,999.95 + tax
Sparco.com price $1,951.65
We saved $48.33 using mySimon

It's hard to find a good deal on a consumer desktop or laptop—most online stores charge the same as brick-and-mortar retail outlets. The prices most bots found were either equal to or slightly higher than the $1,999.98 Staples wanted for the Pentium III 500MHz Compaq Presario 3555. The only bot that saved us money was mySimon, leading us to Sparco.com, a mom-and-pop charging $1,951.65. A $48.33 savings, however, may not be enough to steer you to the lesser-known merchant.

Apple 450MHz Power Mac 64

Direct price $2,499.00
firstsource.com price $2,444.68
We saved $54.32 using mySimon and Jango

Apple sells this popular Power Mac direct for $2,499 including shipping, and eBoodle found it for the same price at Value America (www.valueamerica.com). But mySimon and Jango were able to find the system for $2,444.68, including shipping, from seller firstsource.com.

ViewSonic VPD150

Direct price $1,083.02
Onvia.com price $989.99
We saved $93.03 using eBoodle

We would have paid $1,083.02 for this 15-inch desktop LCD monitor if we'd purchased it direct from ViewSonic. EBoodle found it for $989.99 at Onvia.com.

Lexmark Z51

CompUSA price $199.97 + tax
Harmony Computers price $156.96
We saved $43.01 using DealTime and mySimon

CompUSA wants $199.97 for the popular Lexmark Z51 inkjet printer. Our bots returned a variety of deals, ranging from $159.90 to $199.83. But DealTime and mySimon directed us to New York-based Harmony Computers (www.shopharmony.com), which was selling the printer in plain packaging (as opposed to a full-color box) for $156.96. If you don't live in New York, you won't have to add sales tax. The item was on back order, though, so we would have to wait a week or two for delivery.

Logiteck iTouch

Direct price $109.93
Value America price $59.90
We saved $50.03 using Compareitall

You can purchase the iTouch cordless keyboard and mouse bundle directly from the manufacturer for $109.93, including $9.98 shipping. But Compareitall directed us to Value America, which not only includes shipping charges in its advertised prices, but offers rebates as well. Value America was selling the iTouch for an unbelievable $79.90 minus a $20 rebate, reducing the price to $59.90. No other vendor came close.

Creative Labs FPS2000

Direct price $149.99
ClubComputer price $132.75
We saved $17.24 using NexTag.com

A set of multimedia speakers from Creative Labs would have cost us $149.99 direct. NexTag.com found them for $132.75 at the ClubComputer site (www.clubcomputer.com).

Quake III

Direct price $49.99
Compuexpert price $39.90
We saved $10.09 using mySimon

MySimon found the lowest price on id Software's popular Quake III. We could buy the game direct for $49.99, or get it for $39.90 from Compuexpert (www.compuexpert.com) and save $10.09.

Spend Time, Save Money

Even with bots, comparison-shopping on the Web requires doing your homework. Sometimes, the best price will come from the manufacturer itself or even your local retailer. But taking a few bots along on your next online shopping trip can pay big dividends. Just remember to check more than one bot, sort results by price, and pay close attention to online merchants' shipping and handling policies before you make a purchase. And keep in mind that the price you found yesterday might change tomorrow. t